Today, Margaret Dilloway’s How to Be an American Housewife (my review) comes out in paperback.  I really enjoyed the novels look at the immigrant experience, as Shoko adapts to her life as an American housewife, but also the differences between her children, Mike and Suiko.  There are three generations in this novel and their interactions ring true.  While the topic is similar to Amy Tan and Lisa See’s work, the style is Dilloway’s own.

In addition to a giveaway for my U.S. readers (Sorry, the publisher is mailing out the books), I have a guest post from Margaret Dilloway about her mother’s own immigration story, which inspired her to write the novel.  Even better, I’ve got some great photos to share with you as well of her mother and herself.

Without further ado, please welcome Margaret Dilloway:

My mother came of age in Japan during the 1950s. The country was wrecked, men were scarce, and traditional opportunities were few for a young woman like her. The U.S. occupation of her country opened up welcome jobs. Her father told her, “America is the way to go,” and they might as well embrace the American way.

Margaret Dilloway's Mother

She began working for Americans after she graduated from high school, sending money home to help her family and her younger brother go through college. She was a housekeeper and worked at a gift shop.

Mom dated both Japanese and American servicemen, but in her mid-20s she decided she ought to marry an American and get out of the country. She took photos of all her suitors and took those home to show her father. He selected my father, who was in the Navy, as the one she ought to take seriously. “He has honest eyes,” my grandfather decided. I don’t know whether those pictures were black and white or color, but my father has very blue, wide round eyes.

My mother liked to tell the story of how she asked my father to marry her. With his ship was due to leave in a matter of months, she decided he was dillydallying, so she asked him point-blank if he planned to marry her. In her story, she said, “So, you gonna marry me or what?” He said okay. They married in 1958.

About 1940s; Margaret's Mother is in the top row, 4th from the right

They lived all over the country, moving for the Navy. They were stationed in Hawaii, Japan, Florida, and on both the West and East coasts. It wasn’t always easy, especially in the early days. My mother reported people staring or outright insulting her. She struggled to learn English, relying on imitating phrases she heard on television or from my father. My oldest brother, born in 1960, also felt the brunt of insults as a “mixed” race child.

Eventually, in the early 70s, they settled in San Diego, choosing it because of its nice weather; also, it was the final place my dad was stationed. Dad had done his early training here and fell in love with the place. My mother said she liked San Diego because it was more culturally diverse than other places she’d lived, and she didn’t feel so out of place here. My middle brother and I were born, and my father retired from Navy life.

Stories of their peripatetic lifestyle, before my middle brother and I showed up, became part of family lore. Stories of how my oldest brother got stared at, whispered about. How so many people didn’t like my parents being married, while others were pleasantly surprised. My mother loved telling these stories, but I didn’t always like listening. They were her version of, “When I was your age, I walked two miles in a snowstorm to school…” stories, the kind parents tell you to remind you how good you have it. So, like most kids, I’d roll my eyes, but I still listened.

Margaret and her mother (1987)

The stories stuck. I remember her telling me about everything from the beloved Shirley Temple doll she had when she was a kid (it melted, made of a flammable pre-plastic material), to how her Japanese fiancé cheated on her, to how hard she tried to become a proper American housewife.

Her stories, floating around in my head for so many years, inspired the novel. A book she had, THE AMERICAN WAY OF HOUSEKEEPING, gave me the structure I needed to hang the story on. I made up the plot during my research, changing the character from my own mother into the fictional heroine Shoko.

Thanks, Margaret, for sharing such an inspirational story from your family.

Giveaway details: 1 copy of How to Be an American Housewife for 1 U.S. reader.

1. Leave a comment about your own immigrant story or one you heard.

2. For a second entry, leave a link with your Facebook, Tweet, or blog post spreading the word about the giveaway.

3. For a third entry, follow this blog and let me know.

Deadline is Aug. 10, 2011, at 11:59PM EST.